Bottle cap-building block

ABSTRACT

The subject of the invention is a cap-building block, which consists of the body (6) in the shape of cylinder, made of plastic, where the parameters of the body, such as: height, radius, extrusion depth and thickness of side walls depend on the type of packaging to which a cap-building block will be adapted. The splines (3) and the sockets (5) are made in the body (6), contiguously to its side wall, radially and alternately, in a total number of at least four. They are placed also on the external and internal sides of the upper surface (4). Both the splines (3) and the sockets (5) have, in their essential part, the shape of cylinder and they are round in the cross-section, and the cross-section of their outermost parts has the shape of circle in case of the splines (3) and the shape of ring in case of the sockets (5).

The subject of this invention is a bottle cap-building block which canbe used as a toy for children and which is applied for closingcontainers, especially bottles, intended for storing food products, suchas mineral water, beverages, nectars, juices, dairy products and milk.The cap being the subject of this invention can be used in various typesof packaging, such as PET, HDPE as well as cardboard packaging. It isalso possible to use this cap for closing non-toxic hygienic products,such as, for example, toothpaste packaging.

There are the solutions of caps which are simultaneously the buildingblocks intended for playing.

The solution titled: “Combination bottle cap and construction toy” isknown from an American description of invention (publication numberUS5361919A). The revealed invention is a combination of bottle cap andconstruction toy, which allows for joining collected caps together,using them to build figures of various shapes and in variousconfigurations. The caps described therein are encased in a hexagonalsolid, with protrusions on its sides, or more precisely, there is aprotrusion on every second side, and there is a recess corresponding tothis protrusion on the next side. Additionally, the circumferentialedges of caps—both the lower and the upper ones—are bevelled and thereare also the recesses or protrusions corresponding to the recesses madein them, allowing to fasten the other caps together, at an angle of 45°.Similar protrusions are made also in the bottom of the cap, on itsexternal surface. The construction of caps allows fastening themtogether.

The solution titled “Essentially cylindrical functional cap shaped as abuilding block, use of the cap, method for producing the cap, and set ofat least one cap” is known from another Brazilian description ofinvention no. BR20141003102 (there is no publication number for thisinvention). This invention regards an essentially cylindrically shapedcap, which has a side wall with internal and external parts and isfitted with an element for fixing a lockable cover to the container. Itsupper surface—with internal part and external parts—has at least one pinas a connecting element and/or the socket as a connecting element and/ora number of elements which block the connection in at least one of itssurfaces. The base of the attachment is not fitted with a socket and amounting element protruding outside the external part of the side wall.The attachment contains an element which facilitates positioning the capfor mounting and this element is selected from a group consisting of (invarious caps): protrusion, recess or combination of them. This inventionregards also the applications and processes for producing the caps andthe sets containing such caps.

Another solution, titled “Building block type bottle cover” is knownfrom a Chinese description of utility model, no. CN20032127139U. Theutility model is a bottle cover, in particular a bottle with a buildingblock type cover, which is intended for increasing the interest inbottle closure. According to the utility model the bottle cap is a roundbox. It is equipped with a socket or plug—therefore the bottle coverscan be joined together, in order to form various shapes, by connectingthe plugs with the sockets.

Another solution, titled: “Bottle cap building block”, is known from anAustralian invention, no. AU2000PQ00088. The bottle cap presentedtherein can be used also as a toy. The attachment contains an uppersurface with a number of incisions, which have such shape and size sothat they fit in at least one path or groove spreading out across thelower surface of the other cap's edge. The path width and the incisionsmade in it are identical or slightly smaller than the width of capperiphery. It is possible to place several caps on one attachment in anassociation system, allowing to use them as building elements.Essentially there are many protrusions, marking out a number of variouspaths, so the attachment protection can simultaneously join severalother caps together with one connection.

Another solution, titled “Combined packaging and plaything”, is knownfrom an English invention, no. GB19930003848. The head presented thereinresembles a lollipop and it is placed in packaging (essentially in theform of a cube) and is fitted with uniform, triangular splines orsockets. The sockets can be snap fastened to other similar sockets andin this manner the packaging can form a constructional part of a toy.The head of the lollipop can contain an extended stick, foldedtelescopically, in such a manner that it can be almost entirely insertedinto the head. In such case the entirety can be housed in essentiallycubical solid

The purpose of developed invention is creating such a cap which could beused also as a building block for building various three-dimensionalconstructions. The purpose of this invention is also the utilization ofwaste which is generated during the production of packaging and caps andcan be used as simple toys for children.

The essence of the developed cap-building block, in which the splinesand sockets are made, consists in the fact that it is a two-sidedcap-building block, which consists of a cylindrical body, on one sideclosed by the upper surface with, in total, four splines and socketsarranged radially and alternately on the body perimeter, on its sidewall, where the splines and sockets are arranged, most favourably, insuch a manner that the spline, located exactly on the opposite bodyside, in a straight line, corresponds to the spline, and the socketcorresponds to the socket, and the size of these elements was selectedin such a manner that the spline fits in the socket.

Favourably, there is a spline on the upper surface, on the external sideof the two-sided cap-building block, and the socket is placed on theupper side of the two-sided version of cap-building block, andadditionally the spline or the socket is made on their internal side.

Favourably, both the splines and sockets have the shape of cylinder intheir essential part and they are round in the cross-section, and thecross-section of their outermost parts has the shape of circle in caseof the spline and the shape of ring in case of the socket.

Favourably, the splines and the sockets are made of the same material asthe body.

The cap-building block, in which the splines and sockets are made, canbe also a many-sided cap-building block, consisting of a cylindricalbody, on one side closed by the upper surface with a number of splinesand sockets (most favourably eight in total) arranged radially andalternately on the body perimeter, on its side wall, which are arranged,most favourably, in such a manner that the spline, located exactly onthe opposite body side, in a straight line, corresponds to the spline,and the socket corresponds to the socket, and the size of these elementswas selected in such a manner that the spline fits in the socket.

Favourably, the spline is located on the upper surface, on the externalside of the many-sided cap-building block, and the socket is located onthe upper surface of the many-sided version of the cap-building block,and additionally the spline or the socket is made on their internalside.

Favourably, both the splines and the sockets have the shape of cylinderin their essential part and they are round in the cross-section, and thecross-section of their outermost parts has the shape of circle in caseof the spline and the shape of ring in case of the socket.

Favourably, the splines and the sockets are made of the same material asthe body.

The solution according to the invention allows applying waste generatedin the production of packaging and using it as toys for children. Thusthe solution encourages to sorting and collecting such waste as thecaps, which are used in this case for education and play for children.Then they can be easily recycled later because they are already cleanedand collected in greater amount.

The invention allows building three-dimensional constructions, similarto and equally nice and complicated as the constructions built ofbuilding blocks in strict sense, using the caps intended for packagingclosing. The developed cap allows also connecting the cap-buildingblocks constituting the subject of the invention with the buildingblocks known and available on the market.

The subject of the invention is presented closer in an embodiment shownin the figures, where FIG. 1 presents the axonometric projection of thefirst type of the cap-building block, i.e. the two-sided cap-buildingblock with the spline on the upper surface and with the spline shownfrom the front, FIG. 2 presents the axonometric projection of thetwo-sided cap-building block with the socket on the upper surface,rotated by 90° and with the socket shown from the front, FIG. 3 presentsthe axonometric projection of the first type of the cap-building block,i.e. the two-sided cap-building block with the spline on the uppersurface and with the socket shown from the front, FIG. 4 presents theaxonometric projection of the two-sided cap-building block with thesocket on the upper surface, rotated by 90° and with the spline shownfrom the front, FIG. 5 presents the axonometric projection of the secondtype of the cap-building block, i.e. the many-sided cap-building blockwith the spline on the upper surface and with the socket shown from thefront and with the splines on its both sides, FIG. 6 presents theaxonometric projection of the two-sided cap-building block with thesocket on the upper surface, rotated by 90° and with the spline shownfrom the front and with the sockets on its both sides.

As it is shown in figures, the subject of the invention are alternativesets of caps-building blocks, where the first set consists of two-sidedcaps-building blocks (1) (FIGS. 1 to 4), and the second set consists ofmany-sided caps-building blocks (2) (FIGS. 5 to 7).

Both the two-sided caps-building blocks (1), and the many-sidedcaps-building blocks (2) are made in a variant with the spline (3) ontheir upper surface (4)—in case of caps-building blocks (1), thisversion of the invention is illustrated in FIG. 1 and FIG. 3, and incase of many-sided caps-building blocks (2) this version of theinvention is illustrated in FIG. 5, as well as in a variant with thesocket (5) on their upper surface (4)—in case of caps-building blocks(1′) this version of the invention is illustrated in FIG. 2 and FIG. 4,and in case of many-sided caps-building blocks (2′) this version of theinvention is illustrated in FIG. 6.

As it is shown in figures, both the two-sided cap-building block (1) andthe many-sided cap-building block (2) consist essentially of the body(6), which is a cylinder, favourably made of plastic, where theparameters of the body, such as: height, radius, extrusion depth andthickness of side walls depend on the type of packaging to which thetwo-sided cap-building block (1) or the many-sided cap-building block(2) will be adapted. In the body (6), the splines (3) or the sockets (5)on its upper surface (4) are made of the same material as the body (6).

The splines (3) and the sockets (5) are placed on the body (6),contiguously to its side walls and they are arranged radially andalternately on them, in a number of at least four—in two-sidedcap-building block (1), or in greater number, most favourably eight—inmany-sided cap-building block (2).

The splines (3) and the sockets (5) are placed in pairs, most favourablyin such a manner that if the spline (3) or the socket (5) is located onthe body (6) in a given place, then the corresponding socket (5) orspline (3) is located exactly on the opposite side, in a straight lineof the body (6) and thus the splines (3) and the sockets (5) form thepairs corresponding to each other.

Most favourably, both the splines (3) and the sockets (5) have, in theiressential part, the shape of cylinder and they are round in thecross-section, and the cross-section of their outermost parts has theshape of circle in case of the splines (3) and the shape of ring in caseof the sockets (5).

The size of these elements was selected in such a manner that the spline(3) fits in the socket (5). These elements can be cylindrical, but alsocuboidal, with any base, e.g. triangle, square, trapezoid, rectangle,but they always correspond to each other with their size. In case whenthey are cylindrical, the radius of the spline (3) is equal to theinternal radius of the socket (5). Thanks to that when the caps-buildingblocks are joined together, the friction force is sufficient to ensure arigid connection of these elements, which allows building variousthree-dimensional constructions of them, However, the connection ofthese elements is simultaneously weak enough that each user, including achild, can easily disconnect the two-sided caps-building blocks (1) ormany-sided caps-building blocks (2).

The body (6) with the upper surface (4) closes the packaging, which is,e.g., a bottle. The spline (3) or the socket (5), depending on the captype, is made in the upper surface (4) of the cap, on its internal side,which is exposed to contact with the content of packaging. The socket(5) or the spline (3) is made also in the upper surface (4), on itsexternal side, i.e. this side which is located on the packaging top andis not exposed to contact with the content of packaging.

Thus, depending on the cap type, if the socket (5) is made in theinternal part of the cap, in the upper surface (4), then the spline (3)is made on the external, upper surface (4). And vice versa, if thespline (3) is made in the internal part of the cap, in the upper surface(4), then the socket (5) is made, in this case, in the upper surface(4), on its internal part.

The caps-building blocks constructed in this manner allow joining themtogether not only in two, but also in three dimensions, buildingthree-dimensional constructions serving to children and developing theirimagination, inventiveness and sense of space.

LIST OF ELEMENTS:

-   1. two-sided cap-building block,-   2. many-sided cap-building block,-   3. spline,-   4. upper surface,-   5. socket,-   6. body.

1. The cap-building block, in which the splines and sockets are made,characterized in that it is a two-sided cap-building block (1), whichconsists of cylindrical body (6), closed from one side by the uppersurface (4) with the splines (3) and sockets (5), four in total,arranged radially and alternately on the body (6) perimeter, on its sidewall, which are arranged, most favourably, in such a manner that aspline (3), located exactly on the opposite body (6) side, in a straightline, corresponds to the spline (3), and the socket (5) corresponds tothe socket (5), where the size of these elements was selected in such amanner that the spline (3) fits in the socket (5).
 2. The cap-buildingblock, according to claim 1, characterized in that the spline (3) islocated on the upper surface (4), on the external side of two-sidedcap-building block (1), and the socket (5) is located on the uppersurface (4) of two-sided cap-building block (1′), and additionally thespline (3) or the socket (5) is made on their internal side.
 3. Thecap-building block, according to claim 1, characterized In that both thesplines (3) and the sockets (5) have, in their essential part, the shapeof cylinder and they are round in the cross-section, and thecross-section of their outermost parts has the shape of circle in caseof the spline (3) and the shape of ring in case of the socket (5). 4.The cap-building block, according to claim 1, characterized in that thesplines (3) and the sockets (5) are made of the same material as thebody (6).
 5. The cap-building block, in which the splines and socketsare made, characterized in that it is a many-sided cap-building block(2), which consists of cylindrical body (6) on one side closed by theupper surface (4) with a number of splines (3) and sockets (5) (mostfavourably eight in total) arranged radially and alternately on the body(6) perimeter, on its side wall, which are arranged, most favourably, insuch a manner that the spline (3), located exactly on the opposite body(6) side, In a straight line, corresponds to the spline (3), and thesocket (5) corresponds to the socket (5), and the size of these elementswas selected in such a manner that the spline (3) fits in the socket(5).
 6. The cap-building block, according to claim 5, characterized inthat the spline (3) is located on the upper surface (4), on the externalside of many-sided cap-building block (2), and the socket (5) is locatedon the upper surface (4) of many-sided cap-building block (2′), andadditionally the spline or the socket is made on their internal side. 7.The cap-building block, according to claim 5, characterized in that boththe splines (3) and the sockets (5) have, in their essential part, theshape of cylinder and they are round in the cross-section, and thecross-section of their outermost parts has the shape of circle in caseof the spline (3) and the shape of ring in case of the socket (5). 8.The cap-building block, according to claim 5, characterized in that thesplines (3) and the sockets (5) are made of the same material as thebody (6).